I had to have some dental work done this month and the price of that is even going up! Groceries! Thank God for gardens!!! Gas! I have actually declined to go see relatives who I CARE about, because I don’t want to use the gas. Hubby and I spent yesterday at home for this reason, and yes, so far, Costco IS the cheapest for gas all around, but keep watching. As for buying those “little things”, grandkid gifts and such? I find if I’m tempted to buy something now, I make my self go look at books first. That way, if I’m going to spend money on stuff they don’t need, at least it’s good stuff!

Have I noticed?? Are you kidding me?? Although I love this site, this is a glaring example of how different your lives are from mine. I have had the same car for 4 years. When I first bought it I paid $15 to fill the tank. I fill the tank at least 5 times in my 2 week pay period. I now pay $35 - $40 to fill the tank. I can assure you my income has not kept up with that. Do the math - I drive to work to earn money to buy gas to drive to work. So don’t talk to me about shoes… I eat out less and eat a lot of ramen noodles. I walk more. Any new wardrobe updates are from Walmart or Target. Vacation - forget about it. Success is not measured anymore by how I have gotten ahead - but rather ‘did I make it through the month without getting in any deeper financially?’

Everything! However, toilet paper is what really made me suck in my breath at the store over the weekend. It is up $1.50 just from two weeks ago. There are some things my family just can’t do without, and toilet paper is one of them! We will be cutting back elsewhere…

Here’s the fascinating part…I work in transportation, and though fuel has increased and continues to, and though retailers will tell you they have to pass on the increase to the customers…oddly enough, the retailers keep us at prices from last year. Interesting..but then this way Wal-Mart can pretend to be a hero by cutting prices and YET still make a profit!!!!

Everything is UP UP UP! Except my paycheck ofcourse. I am a resturant manager so I know the profit margin and it is going DOWN because the cost of supplies are up and the owner is (understandabley ) reluctant to raise prices. So its a catch 22. Because people are also eating out less. The cost of groceries is the most alarming because I can go without a lot of things but food isn’t one of them.

of course gas and grocerys, but also the insurance and taxes . it has caused the family to be more creative.( which is a good thing) clothes, but we are just adding a few pieces to revive our current wardrobe. I am choosing these times as a teaching period with my children, if not we would all be gloom and doom. ( after all , most kids today have not been through hard times, therefor lacking the coping skills to do so) this is a time as parents we should use every chance to teach them. They may go through this or worse as adults and they will be better prepared if we give them the tools to be.

I have always been a tight-wad, and proud of it, so bargain hunting comes natural to me. With rising prices it is getting harder to find what I consider “deals”. When Trader Joe’s opened a store in Cary I was in love again after shopping at TJ in California. Recently, their prices have increased on some items by about 10-15 %. In all stores, eggs, bread, flour and other basics have increased, however not as much as fruit and vegs!! My yard is too shady for a garden, plus we have squirrels and rabbits that would love some blueberries, strawberries, etc. So, I am feeling rather financially trapped right now.

Everything seems to cost more these days. I made a quick trip to the local grocery store the other day and paid $4.00 for a gallon of the store’s brand of milk! I usually never pay attention to that sort of thing, but for some reason that day I was paying attention and all of a sudden it struck me how much everything has gone up. It was a real wake up call.

We all agree everything is costing more. What can we do about it? I have stopped shopping and only buy what I need. My message to the manufactures……….You raise your prices and I’ll stop buying or I’ll go somewhere else.

Everything is higher — gas and food especially. But I consciously chose to live a short distance from work, which eases transporation concerns. I make a lot of clothes and shop second-hand, supplementing with an occasional non-sale purchase. I eat one meal out per week, usually lunch. Hardly a Spartan routine, but lots of folks have it worse.

What hasn’t gone up? Everything is raising at such an alarming rate. I never really pay attention to the cost of individual items at the grocery store, but I have certainly noticed that my bill keeps getting higher every week. My paycheck is not increasing but it is costing me more and more to get to work! This is a very frustrating time for everyone, rich or not, the economy is killing us all financially !!

Everything seems to be going sky high. The organic milk that we buy is up to nearly $6 a gallon. I want to commit to supporting organic farmers and companies and I’m willing to pay more to do it, but this is getting beyond my comfort level. Thank goodness that my husband and I only consume about a gallon a week. I don’t know how families with growing children manage.

Stock prices aren’t gone up, but I’m hoping they will again. Until then, I’m cautiously enjoying the thrill of the sale by accelerating the funding of my Roth IRA. Caitlin http://allthebestideas.blogspot.com

Everything I need to purchase for day to day living is going up; everything in which I have invested is going down.